Confession: I’m an author, but my children hate to read. But I’ve heard of that dreaded summer slide, so I knew something must be done. I recently saw a reading challenge for kids about different types of books they should read (ie. Read a book about...

For Julia Anders, hope had the glint of Christmas lights, the mixed scent of pine, cloves and orange, and the look of Jake’s hand, stretching across the space between them. Then again, so did guilt. “Dance with me, Julia,” Jake repeated. The normal gruff of his voice...